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Arunachal student death: Cops fail sensitivity test, file case late

The death of a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh has raised serious questions about the role of Delhi Police and the manner in which they deal with people from northeast. Their claims of sensitizing their men and training them regularly on how to deal with the city's vulnerable communities, who are victim of prejudices and racial attacks, have fallen flat.

Had the police acted in time and not treated the case casually, a life may have been saved, Nido Tania's family has alleged. Despite having intervened in the case, they obviously didn't sense how volatile the situation was. The police say they have registered a case after getting to know that Nido Tania was declared brought dead at AIIMS though there was ample proof that he had been beaten up earlier.

The family members of Tania say he was bleeding when he was taken to the police station on Wednesday but no medical examination was conducted. They also alleged that the police officer who took Tania back to the spot for verifying his claim of a compromise left him there in the midst of a hostile crowd.

According to police sources, in cases of a complaint of a brawl, the control room informs the PCRs about a 'jhagde ki call' which is then dealt with accordingly by the investigating officials. Most of the time the DCP is not even informed about incidents in which the investigating officials go for a "settlement".

Observers also alleged that there was a lack of sensitivity in dealing with cases involving people from the north-east. Several students have alleged that they often face discrimination which the police fail to address. "I have not seen the police dealing with such cases of discrimination seriously," said Steven, a student from Mizoram.

Police officers said there is special training for constables and head constables on how to deal with cases involving students from the northeast. "We have been taking the matter seriously after complaints from the students of north-east," said Robin Hibu, joint commissioner, training.